Castle-upon-tyne



2 Sheets- Sheet 1 W. HUTCHINSON.

(No Model.)

E. W. LLQYD an' C.

APPARATUS POR LAUNGHING TORPL'DOES.Y NQ. 548,374.

(No Model.)

APPARATUS FOR LAUNGHING TORPEDES.

Patented Oct. 22, 1895 UNTTTU STaTns PATENT @Tarea OASTLE-UPON-TYNE, ENGLAND, ASSIGNORS TO SIR lV. ARMSTRONG,

MITCHELL da CO., LIMITED, OF SAME PLACE.

vAPPARATUS FOR LAUNCHING TORPEDOES.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 548,374, dated October 22, 1895.

Application filed May 3, 1895-v Serial No. 548,023. (No model.)

To @ZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that weAEDWARD WILLIAM LLOYD, formerly a commander in the British Navy, and now of the rm of Sir W. G. Arm- 5 strong, Mitchell dr Co., Limited, and CHARLES WESLEY HUToHINsoN, engineer, both residing at Elswick Works, NeWcastle-upon-Tyne, England, subjects of the Queen of lGreat Britain, have invented certain new and useto ful Improvements in Apparatus for the Launching of Locomotive-Torpedoes under NVater, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates moreespecially to r 5 apparatus for launching ,locomotive-torpedoes from the broadside of a ship by an impulse imparted by compressed gas. y The gas is obtained preferably by burning an explosive, such as cordite, in a closed comzo bustion-chamber.

The apparatus consists ef a fixed outer tube or casing closed by a door in rear and tted in front with a sluice-valve which when the apparatus is not in use (and at other times 2 5 when required) serves to exclude the sea. The outer tube or casing contains 'another tube v which receives the torpedo wit-hin it, the same being admitted by a door at the rear end of the inner tube. This inner tube we term thtl 3o' torpedo-guide.

Between the two tubes at their rear ends an annuar space is provided,terminating in front at a gland formed in the outer tube about' midway of its length. The torpedo- 35 guide fran travel longitudinally through this gland Compressed gas from the combustionchamber enters the annular space between the tubes and drives the torpedo-guide contain- :ing the torpedo forward until it is arrested by 4o ahydraulic butter-stop. So the torpedo-guide is made to protrude from the casing. There is a valve upon the rear door of the torpedoalso into the interior of the torpedo-guide,

45 and the gas so admitted into the torpedoguide impinges upon the torpedo, drives it forward, and launches it upon its course.

There are grooves Within the torpedo-guide two or more from end to end of it at the top 5e rendiL two or more at the bottom, and entering the grooves there are corresponding ribs upon the torpedo-'extending a short distance along it where it is of its greatest diameter.

The fore part of the torpedo-guide, which in the launching,r operation is protruded from 5;:

The gaseous pressure is generatedlin a` chamber preferably at the side of the casing and communicating with the annular space within.

To moderate the rush of gas resulting when the charge of cordite or other explosive is ignited, the gas is checked and baffied by being made to pass through perforations in a plate and to flowin a circuitous course. nular space within the casing serves as an expansion chamber for the gases, and the gases when in this chamber exert a pressure in rear of the torpedo-guide and drive it forward, as already explained. The valve for admitting the gasto the interior of the torpedoguide is controlled oy a cam-surface, a spring, and a lever, so that the pressure applied within and without the torpedo-guide may be duly proportioned.

When the apparatus is used upon a ship in rapid motion, the lateral pressure of the water upon the fore part of the torpedo-guide when protruded is very great. vIn order that the torpedo-guide may work freely under this strain, we provide rollers upon the casing to support it. We also provide a rack and pinion or other gear to withdraw the torpedo guide if in any case it should fail to return automatically.

In order that our invention may be fully understood, we will-proceed to describe the Vdrawings annexed. guide by which the compressed gas may pass Figure 1 is a. longitudinal and horizontal section of launching apparatus arranged in accordance with our invention. 3 are transverse sections of the same, the one near the fore end and the other near the after end. Figs. L and 5 show details en rgge; scale. Fig. e is a longitudinal sect-ien and. Fig. 5 is s transverse section.

The an- Figs. i? and sto ct is the outer tube or casing. b is a sluiced is a door which closes the after end of the Itube or casing ct. This door is openedfor the admission of the torpedo and is closed and locked gas-tight behind it.

eis theinnertubeortorpedo-guide. Forhalf of its length it is cylindrical and it is held in a gland formed in the casing atf. Handgear, as seen atg, is provi-ded tcaadjust the tightness of the gland.

e e are guiding-grooves passing from end to end of the torpedo-guide.

h is the torpedo. It is seen in its place within the torpedo-guide. h h are ribs on the torpedo entering the guiding-grooves e.

It will be observed that both at the top and bottom of the torpedo-guideapair of grooves is provided and the torpedo has corresponding ribs. This duplication of the grooves and ribs is found to be necessary to obtain sufficient strength to withstand the strain in launching. i l

t' is the door at the rear end of the torpedoguide. It opens to admit the torpedo and closes water-tight behind it. The door is provided with a suitable fastening.

L' is a valve of large area mounted on the door yt'. `A pair of springs tend to hold the valve to its seat.- The principal spring k' abuis upon a lever Z at one end and upon a disk on the stein of the valve at the other end.

lml is a cam-like bar ou which the leverl bears. It in fixed within the casing ct.

'lhe lever Z when the torpedo-guide travels forward within the casing moves, as it may be controlled bythe inclines upon the bar m,aud so the compression of the spring k is made to vary and the valve is allowed to open more or less freely. l

e2 is the fore part of the torpedo-guide, which is protruded from the ships side in 'launching the torpedo. This part ofthe guide is open on theside facing the stern ofthe ship to allow the torpedo to escape laterally.

ai c3 are holes formed in the fore part ot the torpedo-guide. They serve for therwater to stream through, so that thewater passing the ship may have access to the hinder end of the torpedo before it gets free of the guide.

u u are rollers on the casing to support the torpedo-guide when protruded. They allow it to move freely under the heavy cross-strain to which it may be exposed.

o is a lug upon the after end of the torpedoguide. It serves to keep the torpedo-guide central in the casing.

p is a cavity formed around the torpedoguide, and q is a corresponding annular rib or thickening at the fore end of the casing. lVhen the torpedoguide arrives at the fore end of its course, the rib q is received into the cavityp and water is trapped and can only escape by the narrow clearance-spaces. Thus the torpedo-guide is brought to rest without undue shock to the mechanism.

a socket t to receive a central-lire cordite-cartridge. cartridge by a cover.

The chamber is closed' behind the (Not shown.) The `socket carries a bell-like battle u. It is formed of a piece with the socket t and its stem is slit longitudinally.

When the cartridge is fired, the gases issue by the slits and then are turned back by the bell-like baffle. They reach the exit from the chamber, and this is guarded by the perfo- A'rated plate c. It. further delays the exit of the gases.

The apparatus is used in the following way: The sluice-valve b bein-g closed, the water is run Q ut of the apparatus by opening adraincock which is fitted upon the fore part of the casing a a. The rear doors d and t' are now opened. The torpedo is put into the torpedoguideand the doors are closed and secured behind it.. The sluice-Valve?) is thon opened. It admits the sea-water to the interior of the torpedo-guide around the torpedo. Finallya `cartridge is placed and made ready for tiring in the socket t' of the combustion-chamber. On firing, the gases pass from the combustion-chamber into theannularspace between the casing and the torped-Qguide. lt here expands, and exerting. a pressure on the rear of the torpedo-guideit drivesit forward. If the gas be of suflicient pressure, and it is intended that it should be, the valve 7c opens partially and admits some ofthe gas into the interior of the torpedoguide\The gas so admitted commences to drive the water outfom behind the torpedo and to start the torpedo itself into movement'along the guide. 'Vhen the torpedo-guide reaches the fore end of its course, it is stopped by the hydraulic bufferstop, already described; but previous to this the valve 7c is allowed to open more freely by the operation of the lever Z an'd the cam-like bar m. By the rush of gas which then takes place through the torpedo-guide the torpedo is driven out with highvelocity. When the gases have escaped, the sea will return to the interior ofthe torpedo-guide and the water-pressure will drive it rapidly back to its original position. It' it should stick, it is brought back by the rack and pinion, as already explained. The sluice cock b may now again be closed.

Residual gases maybe permitted to escape by opening a valve upon the flue-pipe w; or the flue-pipe valve may be arranged to open automatically.

Compressed air or gas from other sources may be used in place of that derived from the combustion of au explosive or rapidly-burn ing material.

Figs. 4 and 5 show details of the gear for tightening the gland f. The hand-wheel g has ITO V upon its axis a worm g', which engages a pinscrew-thread upon it and it screws into its place, so that it is only necessary to. turn the ringf in order to compress the packing at f to the extent necessary to make a tight joint. The ring f has teeth on its exteriorengagi-ng those of the spur-wheel g8. Hence by the geartrain described the hand-wheel g gives control of the gland.

What we claim is- 1. Torpedo launching vapparatus comprising an outer tube or casing, an inner tube re, ceiving the torpedo wtlin it and serving as a torpedo guide, a gland in the casing through which the torpedo guide can slide, means for admitting `compressed fluid to the space between the two tubes in rear of the gland and also into the inner tube or torpedo guide in rear of the torpedo.

2. Torpedo launching apparatus comprising an outer tube or. casing, an inner tube or torpedo guide, means for admitting com pressed fluid to a confined space between them, and a loaded valve upon the torpedo guide allowing some of the compressed iiuid to enter into the torpedo 'guide behind the torpedo when its pressure is sucient to lift the-valve.

3. Torpedo launching apparatus comprising an outer tube or casing, an inner tube or torpedo guide, means for admitting compressed fluid to' a confined space between them, a valve upon the torpedo guide allowinglsome of the'tluid to enter the torpedo guide behind the torpedo and an inclined cam,`

like surface controlling the opening of the l valve.

4.' Torpedo launching apparatus comprising an outer tube or casing, an inner tube orv torpedo guide, a gland in the casing through which the torpedo guide can slide, means for admitting compressed iiuid to the confined space between the casing andthe torpedo guide, and gearing on the exterior of the-casing for regulating the tightness ot the gland.

5. Torpedo launching apparatus comprising an outer tube or casing, an inner tube or torpedo guide, means for protruding the torpedo guide from the casing, rollers arranged in chambers upon the casing and bearing against the guide enabling the torpedo guide to move freely when protruded and means for ejecting the torpedo from the inner-tube or torpedo guide.

6.'Torpedo launching apparatus comprisingau outer tube or casing, an inner tube or torpedo guide, means for protruding the torpedo guide from the casing, and a cavity in which water is confined by the torpedo guide as it comes to the outer end of its course whereby the movement of the torpedo guide is checked.

7. In torpedo launching apparatus, a gas generating appliance consisting of the combination of the chamber t containing a cartridge socket t', with lateral slits, and a belllike baille u, surrounding the socket.

EDWARD WILLIAM LLOYD. CHARLES WESLEY HUTCHINSON.

l Witnesses:

T. PURvIs, W. J OGLE. 

